Robbinsdale man pleads guilty to illegal gun possession while working in Edina gas station

A Robbinsdale man has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegal possession of a firearm as a felon, according to U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger.

Court documents state Tavaris Michael Dixon, 32, was arrested last July after a plainclothes Minneapolis police officer noticed what appeared to be a gun inside Dixon’s waistband.

Before the arrest, the officer had entered a Speedway in Edina and noticed the store clerk was Dixon, a man the officer was familiar with due to his surveillance of YouTube rap videos linked to gang violence in Minneapolis.

The officer called for backup, and police took a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a Streamlight attachment from Dixon. Authorities discovered the gun was made outside of Minnesota.

At the time of his arrest, Dixon was on supervised release from his most recent felony conviction, according to the criminal complaint filed in July 2022.

Court documents list his prior felony convictions as first- and second-degree assault in 2008, aggravated robbery and kidnapping in 2008, and firearm possession with a prior felony conviction in 2019. All three cases were tried in Hennepin County.

As of Feb. 7, district court officials have not set a sentencing hearing date.